Agenda - Public Works Committee - 07/19/2005

Home

May 3rd, 2005 REP;D N AY 0 2005 City of Ramsey Attn: Leonard Linton, PE Civil Engineer 1I 15153 Nowthen Boulevard NW Ramsey, MN. 55303 Re: Lot 24, Block 4, The Ponds ofRamsey - 5518 144th Court NW, Ramsey, Jay & Cindy Pugh, Homeowners Dear Leonard: Please allow this letter to serve as our formal inquiry as to the current status of the situation involving the water drainage issues from last year. Other than the city having reimbursed us for the cost to remove the two trees from the drainage easement, we have received no assistance, no communication what so ever. Our next door neighbors at Lot 23 received drain tile installation last fall, paid for either by the city or by the escrowed funds that the builder had with the city were mentioned last year that the city had retained and were going in part, pay for sidewalk replacement, etc. Nothing in regards to re-grading the drainage easement area of their property was done in conjunction with the installation of drain tile so at this point, their yard, especially this winter/spring when the ground was still frozen drains into our yard, down into the big hole where the two trees were once located. As I have been communicating to our builder all along and especially as part of our one year walk-thru, this has created a drowning hazard. The builder has seen first-hand, in person and I have provided them with pictures of standing water two feet deep in the drainage area in question. As l stated, I am trying as best I can to get the builder t0 step up to the plate in terms of rectifying the problem. My wife and I were told repeatedly by a representative of the builder that the builder will take care of the problem, but to date we have received no personal contact by Mark Strandlund of Shade Tree. We are repeatedly told that our inquiries, our messages, are going to Mark, but we have received.no response from Mark on the subject. Again, due to the fact that at times we have standing water in this hole in the drainage easement area and that we have small children, we are concerned for safety reasons as this is absolutely a drowning hazard. I don't know if we need to involve Anoka County and the State of Minnesota or not? We can't help but feel left out in the cold as the City of Ramsey seemed to have dropped us/dropped the issue, the city attempted to at least help our neighbors at Lot 23 even though their drainage problem was less severe, they had maybe two inches of standing water at any given point, we have had up to two feet.' It seems that this was a case of the